Councilman Glass plays integral role in bay rescue

After working 14 days straight, Eureka City Councilman Larry Glass was just looking for a little rest and relaxation.

"I took the day off (Sunday) and just wanted to go for a long, peaceful kayaking trip in the rain," he said.

Glass ended up getting way more than he bargained for and wound up aiding in a multi-agency rescue effort that likely saved a life.

Eureka Police Department Sgt. Bill Nova said several citizens called in shortly after noon on Sunday to report a female subject on the Samoa Bridge exhibiting bizarre behavior. Moments later, Nova said, another call came in reporting that the woman had jumped from the bridge.

Units from both EPD and the Eureka Fire Department responded immediately, just about the same time Glass was paddling toward Freshwater Slough after spending several hours traversing the bay.

Glass said he heard sirens and saw flashing lights on the bridge, and started paddling hard in that direction to see what was happening. He soon saw a fireman jump into the bay in uniform, only to be pulled out by his colleagues a short time later.

"It was pouring rain and the water was freezing cold," Glass said. "I thought maybe they were chasing somebody or something."

Emergency personnel then noticed Glass in his kayak, and started frantically gesturing to get his attention.

When Glass came closer, he said he noticed an object floating in the bay, but couldn't tell what it was.

"I looked over and could see something that looked like either a piece of plastic or a log floating," Glass said. "It wasn't until I was about five feet away from it that I realized it was a person floating in the water -- just floating motionless ... . I could tell she wasn't dead because she looked at me."

Eureka Fire Department Assistant Chief Bill Gillespie said a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and rescue boat were already en route, but it was unclear how long it would take them to arrive on scene. And, Gillespie said, time was clearly of the essence.

Glass said he asked the woman to grab on to his kayak, but she couldn't. So, Glass said he grabbed her clothing with one hand, and used the pedals in his kayak to try to bring her to shore. But, still about 75 to 100 feet from the Humboldt State University boathouse, Glass said the current became too much.

"I just didn't seem to be making any more forward progress," Glass said. "I was just stationary, even though I was working my butt off."

Although he couldn't determine the extent of her injuries, Glass said it was obvious the woman was in a great deal of pain.

"Every once in a while she would let out a scream because she would feel the pain she was in, then she would just slip back into semi-consciousness," he said.

About that time, another stroke of luck hit.

Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputy Roy Reynolds had been on his way to moor his department boat nearby when he heard scanner traffic indicating there was a rescue in progress at the foot of the Samoa Bridge. He quickly made his way to the area.

He arrived on scene about five minutes after Glass, according to Gillespie.

With Reynolds on scene, Glass said he tied his boat to the Sheriff's Office vessel and helped Reynolds pull the woman from the water.

"It was only then that I realized how injured she was," Glass said, adding that the woman appeared to be suffering from hypothermia and to have broken each of her limbs, some with compound fractures. "It was shocking -- that's the only thing I can say."

Glass and Reynolds then immediately took the woman to shore, where she was loaded into an ambulance and taken to St. Joseph Hospital for treatment. Gillespie said that, as of Monday morning, she remained in the intensive care unit. Contacted late Monday, a nurse at the hospital declined to give the Times-Standard any information on her condition.

Glass said he was contacted by the woman's family Monday night, and they thankfully told him she is expected to live.

Nova said it looks like the woman jumped from the bridge and landed on one of concrete seismic retrofitting structures at the foot of the bridge before rolling into the water below.

"That probably saved her life," Nova said. "That water was so cold it just shut her down, and probably kept her from bleeding out."

Gillespie said Glass also played a major role in saving the woman's life.

"He happened to be in the right place at the right time," he said. "Larry did play a very integral role in keeping her alive out there, keeping her afloat, until we could get her on a boat and on her way to a hospital."

Glass -- who said if he hadn't been wearing a life jacket and wet suit he couldn't have been of any assistance to anyone -- said the whole incident simply reminded him of the great work Eureka's public safety agencies do every day.

"When I look at the Eureka Fire Department or the Eureka Police Department, I have one hell of a role model to look up to, as a citizen, for how they handle themselves," he said. "It just reinforced my already high opinion of them, and it gave me a chance to try to emulate them in a small way."

Glass, who normally does his kayaking first thing in the morning, also alluded to the fact that fate may have had a hand in the way Sunday's events played out.

He said he'd been heading to Indian Island before deciding to head for the middle of the bay. Then, he said, he decided to check out Freshwater Slough.

"There were so many times (Sunday) when I felt I was being guided some place," he said. "Just, somehow or another, I wound up there. I'm a spiritual person and I sort of believe I was guided to be in that place at that time."